Washingtonian Civil War
(1906-1910) Supported by: (1908-1910) |combatant2 = Republicans |commander1 = General Abraham Quincy Lord General Arnold Travers Major General Tristan Duval |commander2 = Lord General Ronald Quinn Lord General Timothy Concord |strength1 = 80,000 2,000 |strength2 = 190,000 |casualties1 = 44,000 700 |casualties2 = 69,000 |notes= Over 10,000 civilian and noncombatant casualties recorded. }}The Washingtonian Civil War was a major event in the history of, and the largest military conflict the Kingdom of Washingtonia took part in, claiming over 120,000 lives on both sides of the war including noncombatants. The Civil War started on 15 March 1899 when King John I was murdered along with most of the Royal Family at the wedding of Prince Willard Washington and Lady Mary Concord. Within the days following the massacre, high level royalists were systematically killed in such large scale by republicans that certain authors have called it borderline genocide. However, by the following year, a considerable amount of royalists have regrouped and managed to wrestle control of North Island - where the capital Foundersville is located - from the clutches of the republicans, driving them back to their powerhouse in South Island. There, in late 1901, the republicans formed the Republic of Beauchemin, and attempted several times to broker a peace with the northern royalists, however, to no avail. After receiving military aid from France and to a lesser extent the United Kingdom, the royalists were able to take large parts of South Island, and on 15 March 1910, precisely eleven years after the war started, the nation was fully reunited and peace restored, but at the cost of a compromise between both sides which saw republicanism and monarchism balanced. Background Opposition to the monarchy Since the 1850s, considerable opposition to the idea of an absolute monarchy became apparent in day-to-day life. Discontent among the populace raised as each passing monarchy made no attempts to lessen his own power or establish a semblance of democracy. With the passing of the much-loved King George III and the coronation of his son, John I, the situation became more dire. Known even before becoming King for his reckless spending of money in the treasury and cruel treatment of servants in the royal household, John I was already disliked and the idea of him being King considered by many a nightmare. When he was crowned in 1869, many feared he would abuse his newly found power. In 1870, John I all but confirmed the worries of the people when he had several royal servants executed after Queen Consort Jennifer complained about bad service in the household. Even those within the King's inner circle started doubting his ability to rule over the nation, however, when some of his closest friends attempted to reason with the King, he had them imprisoned (however, they were later released). There were great efforts to cover up the entire event by royal henchmen, most notably by Lord Ronald Quinn, long time friend of the family. These efforts, however, for the most part failed, and the public soon gained knowledge concerning this. As a response, the King issued a decree forcing all registered newspapers to comply with any and all royal orders, or the paper's management may face imprisonment. As a result, the ever-growing pro-republic underground established their own newsletters. These underground groups soon networked into the military and other government departments. Vocal opposition to the monarchy began in the summer of 1879, just after John I ended a nine-month martial law he declared in Louisgrave as a favor to one of his friends. The martial law disrupted business in the city and almost saw its entire economy stagnate. This combined with other nonsensical activities the King took part in enraged the people and many within the King's circle. Royal rivalry The reign of John I did not only upset the general public of Washingtonia but especially the House of Washington's other royal rivals, most notably the strong Concords and Lexingtons, who both had much sway with much of the country's elite. Quinn, who was a very close friend of Lord Timothy Concord, had by 1882 started to plead with John I to change his ways. He was imprisoned briefly twice for these transgressions in less than one year. Betrothal of Prince Willard Events of 15 March Wedding of Willard and Mary On 15 March 1899, the wedding of Prince Willard to Lady Mary Concord was to take place at Wallfrey Keep, seat of the House of Concord. King John I, Queen Consort Jennifer, Lady (former Queen) Cynthia, Crown Prince Patrick, Princess Kaitlin, Prince Edward and Prince Clifton were the most notable members of the Royal Family present at the ceremony, however, over three hundred other distinguished guests, many of whom were also of the royal bloodline, were also present. After the ceremony, the ensuing party in the great hall of the keep went into the early hours of the morning, with many of the guests - numbering around 80 in the hall - intoxicated or distracted by the many spoils and features the hosts were seducing them with. Around three o'clock in the morning, when Willard and Mary left the hall to retire, the string octet abruptly stopped in the middle of their current melody and started playing Republicans To the Front, the well-known taboo theme song of the republican movement within Washingtonia. As mentioned, the guests, including the young King, who himself by this time was intoxicated, did not notice the change in atmosphere. Only Lady Cynthia, the King's mother and former Queen, noticed the song which almost saw her stepfather dethroned playing, and the entrances to the hall abruptly closed. At this point, Lady Cynthia had also noticed that the Royal Family's trusted friend Lord Ronald Quinn had stepped up to the podium of the hall, right under the small balcony where the string octet was playing. Lord Quinn's speech to the King, today remembered as the speech which initiated the Civil War, is as follows: After the speech, the string octet on the balcony revealed a which had been hidden behind the small curtain and proceeded to start firing into the remaining crowd. The King was hit, however survived the initial attack. Queen Consort Jennifer and 71 others were killed within thirty seconds. Only the King, Lady Cynthia and a handful of others, most of whom were hiding under tables, survived. In the bedroom, Lady Mary poisoned her new husband Willard and most of the King's Loyal House Regiment which were assigned to protect the King and his guests were slaughtered by Concord and republican troops. After the dust settled, Lady Cynthia begged Quinn for the life of her son, however, Quinn quickly refused and shot her with his personal sidearm. King John was brought to the outside balcony where the hundreds of other guests who were rounded up outside could see him. Quinn, standing behind the King, proceeded to shout "To Hell with the monarchy!" and slit the King's throat. King John's head was then removed and thrown into the crowd below. The Concord and republican troops were ordered to kill the remaining 200 guests, however, many of them made it away safely. Slaughter in Foundersville As the events at Wallfrey Keep were transpiring, republican elements within the King's Loyal Government started summarily executing members of Cabinet, the Presidency, the top officials of the Armed Forces and any known loyalists to the dynasty. Major Richard Tomason of the King's Loyal House Regiment, upon receiving reports of the events occurring across the country, immediately went to the Royal Palace and, along with his most trusted staff, took the infant Prince Brandon I Washington, King John's nephew into hiding. Brandon was, in fact, the only viable living member of the bloodline who could inherit the throne, as his father, Prince Edward (King John's younger brother), was also killed at Wallfrey Keep. Division and confusion across the Kingdom Initial regrouping Weeks following the massacre Fortification and defense Reclamation of North Island (1900) Secession of the Republic of Beauchemin (1901) International recognition Royalist offensive and shattering defeat (1901-1903) Second Republican offensive (1903-1906) French and British assistance to royalists Final invasion of Beauchemin (1906-1910) Aftermath Assembly Pact (1910) Constitution of 1913 Legacy See also * * Category:Kingdom of Washingtonia